Summer 2009

Hello

My latest Young Adult book, NEWES FROM THE DEAD, is selling well in the US as well as the UK, and is out in the US in audio editions. On one of my much-too-frequent looks at the Amazon UK website to see how it’s doing, I was thrilled to see this fantastic review from the historian and writer, Alison Weir. She says:

“This is a stunning historical novel with the period beautifully evoked. It’s a chilling tale that engaged from the first page - I read it at one sitting. I can’t praise it highly enough.”

I have used Alison’s marvellous books in the past for research purposes, but never thought that she might read my books and - it’s a bit of a cliché I know - I really am thrilled to bits that she liked it so much.

UK Paperback

US Cover

NEWES has been short listed for the Stockport Children’s Book Prize, and has actually won the Hull Children’s Book Award. It was also chosen by US Libraries as one of the “Outstanding International Books” of 2009. All very exciting!

My new book in the series AT THE HOUSE OF THE MAGICIAN, about a maid at the house of Dr Dee, is due to be published in September. This has a gorgeously romantic cover and is called THE BETRAYAL. There are three books in all and they are published in Japanese, German and French - the Japanese one looks particularly fascinating! I am hoping that a US publisher will pick up the set soon. Books for Keeps kindly included the first book in their top ten of Tudor novels.

I’m reaching a nail-biting crisis point in the book I’m writing at the moment, which is set in a Victorian funeral parlour and features the Necropolis Railway which ran out of Waterloo taking bodies for burial. It is possibly going to be called THE GREAT GARDEN OF DEATH and as - you will know this if you’ve read any of my historical novels - I do like to pop real people in, so Charles Dickens has a walk-on part.

All my modern Bloomsbury novels are about to be re-jacketed in brightly coloured covers and look very stylish. Look out for the MEGAN series, out now with a cover which leaves you in no doubt as to what it’s about!

Thanks for coming to my website and a happy summer to all.

Love from Mary Hooper x x x

N.B. If any schools are interested in seeing some of the original research material I used when writing NEWES FROM THE DEAD, please contact childrenspublicity @ randomhouse. co. uk (please join up) and a Schools Pack will be emailed to you.